Add a user account in Project Server 2010

Every Microsoft Project Server 2010 user must have a user account before he or she can log on to Project Server 2010 and interact with Project Server data. User accounts can be added through the Manage Users page in Microsoft Project Web App (PWA) Server Settings.

Note: Windows users can also be added to Project Web App from the Active Directory directory service through Active Directory Synchronization.

You have access to Project Server 2010 through the Project Web App site.

The user accounts that you are adding are configured properly in either Active Directory or the forms-based membership provider so that their information is available to Project Server 2010. Project Server 2010 supports two authentication methods for its users (Windows authentication and forms-based authentication). For more information about supported authentication methods for Project Server 2010, see Plan for authentication in Project Server 2010.

Important: The Manage users and groups global permission in Project Server 2010 is required to complete this procedure.

To add a new user account, perform the following procedure.

To add a user:

On the Server Settings page, in the Security section, click Manage Users.

On the Manage Users page, click New User.

On the New User page, fill out the required information for the user. See the following sections for more information about each option.

Identification Information

Use the Identification Information section to specify user information such as name, e-mail address, and account status.

The following table describes the user identification options.

Attribute

Description

User can be assigned as a resource

The status of the user as an Enterprise Resource. Select User can be assigned as a resource to enable this user account to be assigned tasks as a resource. Selecting this entry makes the user an Enterprise Resource. This setting is the default selection. Once a user account becomes an Enterprise Resource it cannot be changed back to a non-Enterprise Resource even if the check box is cleared.

Display Name

The name for the user account. This is a required field.

E-mail address

The e-mail address for the user. This field is required to synchronize tasks with Microsoft Exchange Server.

RBS

The user's position in the Resource Breakdown Structure hierarchy.

Initials

The user's initials.

Hyperlink Name

The name of the user's web site (for example, a team web site) if applicable.

Hyperlink URL

The URL of the user's web site, if applicable.

Account Status

Can be set to Active or Inactive. If the value is set to Active, the user account functions normally. If the value is set to Inactive, the user is unable to access the account.

Assignment Attributes

Use the Assignment Attributes section to define information associated with the user's assignment to tasks. This includes calendar, booking type, timesheet manager, assignment owner, and cost and availability information.

Note: If you have not selected the User can be assigned as a resource check box, these options are not available.

Indicates whether the resource can be leveled. Leveling is the process that is used to resolve resource conflicts or over-allocations by delaying or splitting certain tasks. When Project levels a resource, its selected assignments are distributed and rescheduled.

Base Calendar

The base calendar for this resource. A base calendar is a calendar that can be used as a project and task calendar that specifies default working and non-working time for a set of resources.

Default Booking Type

The configuration of a user's booking type as either Committed or Proposed. A committed resource is formally allocated to any task assignment in a project. A proposed resource has a pending resource allocation to a task assignment that has not yet been authorized. This resource assignment does not detract from the availability of the resource to work on other projects.

Timesheet manager

The timesheet manager, if there is one, for the user.

Default Assignment Owner

The enterprise resource who is responsible for entering progress information in PWA. This person can differ from the person first assigned to the task. For example, a material resource cannot log on to PWA but the assignment owner field allows an enterprise resource to enter progress for the resource within PWA.

Earliest Available

The earliest date that the user is available as a resource. This date corresponds to the resource availability dates for a resource that can be seen in Microsoft Project Professional 2010.

Latest Available

The latest date that the user is available as a resource. This date corresponds to the resource availability dates for a resource that can be seen in Project Professional 2010.

Standard Rate

The rate for the work on an assignment that is scheduled during the regular working hours of an assigned resource. To establish variable rates, open the enterprise resource in Project Professional 2010 and set this information in the Cost Rate tables.

Overtime Rate

The rate for the work on an assignment that is scheduled beyond the regular working hours of an assigned resource. To establish variable rates, open the enterprise resource in Project Professional 2010 and set this information in the Cost Rate tables.

Current Max. Units (%)

The percentage of time that the resource is available for assignments. The current max units is tied to the early and late availability dates, if set. For example, if today is 1/1/2011 and the earliest available date is 1/2/2011 then the max units value is 0% and text next to the field says "Custom availability detected, edit in Project Professional 2010."

Cost/Use

The per-use cost of the resource if applicable. For work resources, a per-use cost accrues every time that the resource is used. For material resources, a per-use cost is accrued only one time.

Exchange Server Details

Use the Exchange Server Details section to specify whether the user’s tasks should be synchronized with Exchange Server.

Select the Synchronize Tasks check box if you want to enable task synchronization by using Microsoft Exchange Server for this user. Exchange integration must be configured for task synchronization to function.

Security Categories

Use the Security Categories section to specify the user's membership in security categories.

To add the user to a category, select the category in the Available Categories list, and then click Add. To modify the category permissions for this user in a category, select the category in the Selected Categories list, and then select Allow for the permissions that you want to enable.

Important: We recommend that you do not set category permissions for a single user. Instead, assign the user to a group and set category permission for the group. This allows for easier maintenance.

The following table describes the security category configuration options for a user.

Attribute

Description

Available Categories

The Available Categories list contains the categories that the user is not a member of.

Selected Categories

The Selected Categories list contains the categories that the user is a member of.

Permissions for <category>

The Permissions for <category> area lets you configure category permissions for this user for the selected category.

Set permissions with Template

The Set permissions with Template option can be used to prepopulate a set of category permissions based on a predefined template for the user's role (such as Executive or Project Manager).

Global Permissions

Use the Global Permissions section to configure global permissions for the user.

To allow or deny a global permission for the user, select the Allow or Deny check box for the permission.

We recommend that you do not configure global permission for a single user. Instead, configure permissions at the group level and add users to the appropriate group. Doing this allows for much easier administration and helps in troubleshooting permissions issues.

Group Fields

Use the Group Fields section to define group and cost information for the user. Group fields are not tied to Project Server security, but are a way to specify that a user belongs to a particular group in your organization. These fields appear in the Project Server reporting database and can be used for reporting. Cost Type can be added to the resource and assignment OLAP cubes.

If your organization uses group names, codes, or cost center information for people, type the information in the Group Fields area. The values available for Cost Type are those that are defined in the Cost Type custom lookup table. By default, the Group field is synchronized with Active Directory if you use Active Directory synchronization.

Team Details

Use the Team Details section to define a team association for the user. To use teams, you must first do the following:

Create a custom lookup table and populate it with the team names that you want to use.

Edit the Team Name custom field to use the new lookup table.

You can use teams to pool assignments under a single resource where they can be later reassigned to other resources. For example, you could create a team resource named "Development" to which you assign software development tasks. By assigning this resource to the Development team and selecting the Team Assignment Pool check box, you enable other users on the Development team to see any tasks assigned to the Development resource and to accept the assignments in PWA. You could also select Team Assignment Pool for a team lead and have all assignments go through that person for distribution to team members.

System Identification Data

The System Identification Data section displays user metadata, such as when the account was created, updated, or checked out.

In the System Identification Data section, type additional identifying information for the user in the External ID box. This information can be used to link the person to corresponding information elsewhere in the organization, or to facilitate the consolidation of reporting of resource use beyond what Project Server provides.